Category Archives: Live

LIVE 048 • Slack Key #1 by Sonny Chillingworth

June 20, 2018Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, apogee one, dancing cat, Endlessly, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, john hardy preamp, Ki Ho'alu, Neumann TLM 102, open g tuning, open tunings, slack key #1, slack key number one, Sonny Chillingworth, Taro Patch, Taylor 412ce-R, waimea cowboyNick

Slack Key No. 1 is a classic showpiece of slack key master Sonny Chillingworth. I first heard it on the Dancing Cat release “Endlessly,” and it also appears on his 1964 solo release “Waimea Cowboy.” The Waimea Cowboy version sounds like it was recorded on an electric guitar, while the version on Endlessly was recorded on acoustic guitar. Both versions are very similar, though with some slight differences. I have incorporated elements from both versions in the arrangement I play. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 050 • Moonglow

June 19, 2018Fingerstyle, Liveapogee one, classical guitar, ear trumpet labs, edwina, john hardy preamp, love, peace, peaceful guitar music, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar taylor grand auditorium, taylor nylon guitarNick

Moonglow is a dreamy fingerstyle song I wrote years ago while sitting outside under a full moon. I’ve played it on and off for years, most always on steel string guitar. Recently I tried it on nylon and found it worked quite well – perhaps even better. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce grand auditorium nylon string) and an Ear Trumpet Labs “Edwina” microphone.

LIVE 057 • Wake Up Slack Key

June 2, 2018Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, kailua kona, Ki Ho'alu, open G, open tunings, Slack Key, Taro Patch, wake upNick

Wake Up Slack Key (also known as Ho’ala Ki Ho’alu) was one of the first slack key style songs I wrote. It stayed in my set for a number of years, though I haven’t played it much lately. This demo was an early version of the song recorded not long after I bought my first Taylor on eBay, a 310ce that became my main guitar for 9 years. This take among the others in my archive really captures the spirit of the tune. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, 5/13/06.

LIVE 062 • Straight Ahead Blues (Demo)

June 2, 2018Liveacoustic blues, acoustic guitar, big island, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, Holualoa, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, Taylor DreadnaughtNick

Here is an improvised song from the vaults I dubbed “Straight Ahead Blues.” At the time I recorded this song, I was listening to a lot of the Clapton Unplugged album, which I still enjoy going back to from time to time. Same with the blues on acoustic guitar. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 2/26/09.

LIVE 066 • Brownsboro Road, Original Fingerstyle Guitar

May 1, 2018Acoustic, Fingerstyle, Liveacoustic guitar, Elixir strings, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, love, peace, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, thumbpicks, tranquil songNick

Today’s song from the vaults, Brownsboro Rd., is one of the earlier fingerstyle songs that I wrote. The recording was made in an attic apartment with the windows open on a warm night and features the sound of crickets in the background. Brownsboro Road was the second track on a project I had called Signs Music Has Changed Your Life. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Louisville, KY. Mixed and mastered by Kevin Ratterman.

LIVE 061 • New Day

May 1, 2018Classic Rock, Live1968, big island, Fender, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, Holualoa, Jimmie Vaughan, kailua kona, late 90’s, love, peace, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, Robert Keeley, stratocaster, thumbpicks, tranquil song, TS808, TS9, tubescreamer, VibroChampNick

Here’s a demo of a song I wrote on electric guitar a while back. Then, as now, I played and recorded mostly acoustic fingerstyle tunes. This is one of a relatively few demos I made on electric guitar from that period in time. Hope you enjoy.

Setup is a late 90’s Fender Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster, through a Keeley tubescreamer (either a TS9 or a TS808) into a 1968 Fender VibroChamp. Recorded in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on 5/3/06.

LIVE 058 • Raindrops (Original Fingerstyle)

May 1, 2018Fingerstyle, Liveacoustic guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, guitar sound effects, love, peace, peaceful guitar music, raindrops, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, thumbpicks, tranquil songNick

Today’s song from the vaults, Raindrops, starts with the eponymous sound effect of individual raindrops made on the guitar. The rest of the song features recordings I made of light rain and a storm as a backdrop for the song. Raindrops was the closing track on a project I had called Signs Music Has Changed Your Life. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Louisville, KY. Mixed and mastered by Kevin Ratterman.

LIVE 056 • Sunday Slack Key (steel string guitar)

April 7, 2018Fingerstyle, Live, Slack Keybig island, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, kailua kona, Ki Ho'alu, Slack Key, sunday slack key, Taro Patch, thumbpicksNick

I originally wrote Sunday Slack Key as a single string melody, using fretted notes on only one string (and the other strings only open). Playing the melody on only one string is a concept I picked up at a jazz guitar clinic – I seem to remember Tal Farlow or Jim Hall proposing the idea as a means for chord melody – and the idea can be useful when arranging a fingerstyle song. Eventually I added a few fretted notes on some other strings, mostly to fill out the bass, yet the fretted notes of the melody remain mainly on one string. The name for the song came to me on a simple, relaxed Sunday, and seemed appropriate. This version of the song was recorded about five years after I wrote it and reflects a few modifications to earlier incarnations. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded at Goldsmith Studios in October, 2011, with a Taylor 310 (Elixir Polyweb medium gauge set) and a pair of Rode NT-5 microphones.

LIVE 055 • Sunday Slack Key (early version, nylon string guitar)

April 7, 2018Fingerstyle, Live, Slack Keybig island, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, kailua kona, Ki Ho'alu, Slack Key, sunday slack key, Taro Patch, thumbpicksNick

I originally wrote Sunday Slack Key as a single string melody, using fretted notes on only one string (and the other strings only open). Playing the melody on only one string is a concept I picked up at a jazz guitar clinic – I seem to remember Tal Farlow or Jim Hall proposing the idea as a means for chord melody – and the idea can be useful when arranging a fingerstyle song. Eventually I added a few fretted notes on some other strings, mostly to fill out the bass, yet the fretted notes of the melody remain mainly on one string. The name for the song came to me on a simple, relaxed Sunday, and seemed appropriate. This is an early version of the song recorded not long after I wrote it. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a nylon string guitar in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, 6/01/06.

LIVE 049 • Long Mountain Rag

March 16, 2018Fingerstyle, Liveacoustic guitar, Alternate Tuning, apogee one, big island, double drop d, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, guitar rag, Hawaii, john hardy preamp, Ki Ho'alu, kihoalu, long mountain, love, mauna loa, Neumann TLM 102, peace, rosewood taylor, Slack Key, Taylor 400 series, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, Taylor guitars, thumbpicksNick

Long Mountain Rag was named in honor of Mauna Loa (Hawaiian for “Long Mountain”), the Big Island of Hawaii’s largest mountain and also the largest active (though not erupting as of this post) volcano on Earth. Measured from its base on the ocean floor, Mauna Loa is the second tallest mountain in the world, topped only by neighboring Mauna Kea (whose peak is 120 feet higher). Long Mountain Rag was influenced by both Bluegrass and Slack Key musical styles. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and an Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina microphone.

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